Superior Tire for Honda Goldwing
I put these on at 87,268, and I have 105,206, so I am just at the 18,000-mile mark with them. I have ridden them in the rain on the Arkansas Pig Trail Scenic Byway, through the 112-degree heat of Nevada, the twisties of the Great Northern Cascades to Portland, and down the Pacific Coast Highway (in the fog at 55 degrees most of that trip). I've had them on gravel roads and every type of road surface you can imagine, including a short stint on grass. Here are my thoughts:
1) I've never bought tires and looked for comfort, so I wasn't looking for a comfortable tire, but that's what is most noticeable about these tires from the start, like pulling out of the driveway, I noticed it immediately. They absorb roadway imperfections like they are wrapped in memory foam. Despite that, they have excellent feedback on twisties and corners, even higher speed cornering.
2) I immediately noticed a slight wobble on the front tire around 38-40 MPH. It was most noticeable when decelerating and when I took my hands off the handlebars. What's interesting is that over the last 18,000 miles, it never got worse. I've had front tires in the past that developed cupping on the front tire, and there was a violent shaking at 38 MPH if you took your hands off the handlebars. I tested this tire numerous times at 38 MPH, and while the slight wobble was there, it did not get worse and didn't go into a violent shake.
3) The front tire's tread is noisy with any lean, even the slightest lean, depending on the road surface. The front tire is pretty quiet on the rough asphalt where I live, but I noticed on smooth concrete roads in New York, and I think it was Maine, that any lean angle produced substantial road noise. Having said that, most roads, regardless of the surface, produce a slight humming noise, but nothing egregious. There were a few times on smooth, concrete toll roads that the sound was downright ridiculous, like riding on an all-terrain tread pattern.
4) Handling on curves was exceptional, even when pulling a 250 lb trailer. Over 5,000 of the 18,000 miles were pulling a trailer. The tires don't follow tar snakes and did very well on grooved pavement, providing plenty of stability and a smooth ride. Did I mention how incredibly smooth these tires are?
5) Traction gets five stars. I've done many miles in heavy rain, like when I hit that squaw line on the Arkansas Pig Trail Scenic Byway, and had to do emergency braking a few times. I never once felt like I was losing traction. The Michelins have performed equally in my view to the OEM as far as traction, and obviously well outperformed the OEM when it came to mileage and comfort.
6) Front tire cupping. The only tire so far that I have been able to run on my bike with no cupping on the front tire has been the OEM. All others suffered cupping on the front despite running the front at 42 PSI and having Centramatics. There are lots of opinions on what causes it, but OEM front tires do not cup on my bike. I have noticeable cupping on the front Michelin tire. It doesn't cause problems when decelerating or at lower speeds like other cupped tires have had. The fact is, the cupping on the front tire has led me to choose to replace it earlier than I would if there were no cupping. But, I,m replacing it at 18,000 miles; more than acceptable tire life for me. I'm sure I could go plenty more miles on it despite the cupping, but I am putting on a new set.
7) Overall, in every category, the Michelins have outperformed all other tires I've ridden on this bike. The Michelin tread pattern on the front tire creates noise, and on certain road surfaces, it can be really loud, but those extra-loud road surfaces were pretty rare.
I'm sold on them. I'll be getting a second set this week on the front and rear.
